narrowness of his circumstances; with this bitter aggra vation to a generous fpirit, that the fmall pittance af forded by his uncle, feemed to him, from the manner in which it was given, rather as an alms doled out for charity, than an act of beneficence due from so near a relation; who was fuppofed by him, as well as by the reft of the world, to be in circumftances that might have afforded a much more liberal ftipend, without prejudice to his own family. Under this load did the fpirit of Swift groan for the space of near seven years that he refided in the College of Dublin; which made fo deep an impreffion on him, that he never afterwards could think with patience of his uncle Godwin, nor could heartily forgive the neglect fhewn him during that time by his other relations.

under fuch circumlikely to prove de

The uneafy fituation of mind which a young man of high spirit must have been in, ftances, produced confequences ftructive of his future fortunes. For, in fuch a state, he could not bear to give the neceffary application to fome of the more dry parts of the academick studies, for which he had indeed naturally no great relifh; but paffed his time chiefly in reading books of history and poetry; which were better fuited to his tafte, and more calculated to relieve the troubles of his mind. In confequence of this, when the time came for his taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts, he was ftopped, as he himself expreffes it, for dulnefs and infufficiency. It is to be supposed that the word dullness was on this occafion used by Swift jocofely, as the cause affigned for ftopping any perfon of a degree, is anfwering badly in any branch of literature appointed for that particular examination; which does not neceffarily imply dullnefs, as it may as well proceed from idlenefs. But in Swift's cafe it was rather to be imputed to contumacy,

than either the one or the other. For the fact is, there was one branch of the examination, on which the greatest stress was laid in thofe days, in which he could not be faid to answer badly, for he did not attempt to anfwer at all. This account I had from his own lips. He told me that he had made many efforts, upon his entering the College, to read fome of the old treatises on logic writ by Smeglefius, Keckermannus, Burgerf dicius, &c. and that he never had patience to go through three pages of any of them, he was fo difgufted at the ftupidity of the work. When he was urged by his tutor to make himself master of this branch, then in high estimation, and held effentially necessary to the taking of a degree; Swift afked him, what it was he was to learn from those books? His tutor told him, the art of reafoning. Swift faid that he found no want of any fuch art; that he could reafon very well without it; and that as far as he could obferve, they who had made the greateft proficiency in logic, had, inftead of the art of reafoning, acquired the art of wrangling, and instead of clearing up obfcurities, had learned how to perplex matters that were clear enough before. For his own part, he was contented with that portion of reason which God had given him, and he would leave it to time and experience to ftrengthen and direct it properly; nor would he run the risk of having it warped or falfely biaffed, by any fyftem of rules laid down by fuch ftupid writers; of the bad effects of which he had but too many examples before his eyes, in thofe reckoned the moft acute logicians. And accordingly he made a firm resolution that he never would read any of those books. Which he fo pertinaciously adhered to, that though he was stopped of his degree the firft time of fitting for it, on account of his not answering in that branch, he went into

the

the hall a fecond time, as ill prepared in that refpect as before; and would also have been ftopped a fecond time, on the fame account, if the intereft of his friends, who well knew the inflexibility of his temper, had not、 stepped in, and obtained it for him; though in a manner little to his credit, as it was inferted in the College Registry, that he obtained it fpeciali gratia, by fpecial favour; where it ftill remains upon record.

In going through the ufual forms of difputation for his degree, he told me he was utterly unacquainted even with the logical terms, and answered the arguments of his opponents in his own manner, which the Proctor put into proper form. There was one circumstance in the account which he gave of this, that surprised me with regard to his memory; for he told me the feveral queftions on which he difputed, and repeated all the arguments ufed by his opponents in fyllogiftick form, together with his anfwers.

He remained in the College near three years after this, not through choice, but neceffity; little known or regarded. By fcholars he was efteemed a blockhead; and as the lownefs of his circumstances would not permit him to keep company of an equal rank with himself, upon an equal footing, he fcorned to take up with those of a lower clafs, or to be obliged to those of a higher. He lived therefore much alone, and his time was employed in pursuing his courfe of reading in history and poetry, then very unfashionable studies for an academick; or in gloomy meditations on his unhappy circumstances. Yet, under this heavy preffure, the force of his genius broke out, in the first rude draft of the Tale of a Tub, written by him at the age of nineteen, though communicated to no-body but his chamber-fellow Mr. Waryng; who, after the publication of the book, made no fcruple to declare that he

had read the firft fketch of it in Swift's hand-writing, when he was of that age.

Soon after this, his uncle Godwin was feized with a lethargy, which rendered him incapable of business; and then it was that the broken ftate of his affairs was made public. Swift now loft even the poor support that he had before; but his uncle William fupplied the place of Godwin to him, though not in a more enlarged way, which could not be expected from his circumstances; yet with fo much better a grace, as fomewhat lightened the burden of dependance, and engaged Swift's gratitude afterwards, who diftinguished him by the title of the beft of his relations. He had no expectation however of receiving any thing more from him than what, was abfolutely neceffary for his fupport; and his chief hopes now for any thing beyond. that, rested in his coufin Willoughby Swift, eldest son of his uncle Godwin, a confiderable merchant at Lifbon. Nor was he difappointed in his expectations. For, foon after the account of his father's unhappy fituation had reached Willoughby Swift at Lisbon, he, reflecting that his coufin Jonathan's deftitute condition demanded immediate relief, fent him a present of a larger fum than ever Jonathan had been mafter of in his life before. This fupply arrived at a critical juncture; when Swift, without a penny in his purfe, was defpondingly looking out of his chamber-window, to gape away the time, and happened to caft his eye upon a fea-faring man, who feemed to be making enquiries after fome body's chambers. The thought immediately came into Swift's head, that this might be fome master of a veffel who was the bearer of a present to him from his coufin at Lifbon. He faw him enter the building with pleafing expectation, and foon after heard a rap at his door, which he eagerly opening, was ac

cofted

cofted by the failor with-"Is your name Jonathan Swift?" Yes! "Why then I have fomething for you from Master Willoughby Swift of Lisbon." He then drew out a large leathern bag, and poured out the contents, which were filver cobs, upon the table. Swift, enraptured at the fight, in the first tranfports of his heart, pushed over a large number of them, without reckoning, to the failor, as a reward for his trouble; but the honeft tar declined taking any, faying that he would do more than that for good Master Willoughby. This was the first time that Swift's difpofition was tried with regard to the management of money; and he said that the reflection of his conftant fufferings through the want of it, made him husband it fo well, that he was never afterwards without fome in his purfe.

Soon after this, upon the breaking out of the war in Ireland, Swift determined to leave that kingdom, and to vifit his mother at Leicester, in order to confult with her upon his future plan of life.

Such was the opening of this great man's life; and from fuch a beginning, who could at that time have imagined that fuch mighty things were to enfue? He was now in his one-and-twentieth-year; unqualified for any profeffion but that of the church; in which he had no profpect of fucceeding from intereft; and the dif graceful manner of his taking his degree, was a strong bar to any hopes on the fcore of merit. He had made no advances in any of the useful studies necessary to put a young man forward in the world; the reclufenefs of his life had rendered him little known; and a temper naturally splenetic, fowered by the mifery of his fituation, did not qualify him much for making perfonal friends. How unpromifing were the profpects of fuch a man, juft entering into the world, under fuch circumftar res! And yet it is to thofe very circumftances,

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